Barcelona’s preparations for their Europa League Round of 16 tie at Galatasaray were disrupted on Wednesday night due to fans of the Turkish club.
A group of Galatasaray fans gathered outside the hotel that Barca’s players and staff were staying in at 3.46am before setting off multiple fireworks surrounding the building.
It was a move that represents a tried-and-tested technique among certain clubs of ensuring travelling teams do not enjoy a good night’s sleep ahead of a match.
Barca were somewhat surprisingly held to a scoreless draw in last week’s first leg at the Camp Nou, leaving the tie in the balance ahead of the return fixture in Istanbul.
However, Xavi Hernandez’s side remain strong favourites to progress through to the quarter-finals despite being frustrated in the first leg.
Have Your Say! Are Barcelona favourites to win the Europa League? Tell us what you think here.
The Catalan giants blasted past Napoli 5-3 in the pre-knockout round while Turkish giants Gala are at this stage courtesy of topping their Europa League group stage. It was an impressive achievement by the Istanbul club as they pipped Lazio, Marseille and Lokomotiv Moscow.
But Gala’s domestic form this season has been their worst in four decades and they are currently in the bottom half of the Turkish top-flight. Barca meanwhile are flying high in La Liga – unbeaten in their last 12 league games and up to third place.
Their players did not have the ideal preparation for this clash however, with local fans setting off fireworks in their team hotel at 3.46am. It will mean that the players and staff had a disrupted night ahead of the big game, which comes three days before Sunday’s El Clasico trip to Real Madrid.
Galatasaray are unbeaten across their 11 Europa League matches to date this campaign. They progressed through the qualification stages against Scottish club St. Johnstone and Randers of Denmark, before topping their group undefeated.
However, the Turkish giants have endured a difficult domestic campaign and they currently languish 11 th in their top-flight – which would represent their worst league finish in 40 years. Gala are 32 points back from runaway leaders Trabzonspor and are closer to the relegation zone than the European places.
Galatasaray are the only Turkish club to ever win a European trophy and have won the Turkish Super Lig 22 times since its establishment in 1959, the most of any club.
Pick up your Daily Mirror every day of the Cheltenham Festival for a FREE £2 shop bet with William Hill which can be used on any of the sporting action! 18 + Terms apply. See tomorrow's paper for your voucher.
